Typically, where louvered window coverings, such as horizontal or vertical blinds, are used for decorative purposes and for controlling the transmission of light through a window, and especially where it is preferable to achieve a sophisticated aesthetic, the selection of affordable window coverings is severely limited.
It is most often the case that the higher-end louvered window treatments utilize thick, heavy slats which are constructed either from solid wood at least 3 mm thick or from an equally thick, equally dense and equally expensive composite manufactured to look and feel like genuine wood. However, using genuine wood slats can be prohibitively expensive because of the high costs of stain-grade wood, particularly in applications where multiple window treatments are necessary. Furthermore, costs can be compounded where windows are not a standard size and customization is required. Composite materials fashioned to look like genuine wood often present similar problems in terms of expense. Unfortunately, plantation shutters and other similarly rich-looking louvered alternatives are rarely a satisfactory substitute from an economic perspective because the grade and thickness of wood necessary to construct those kinds of window coverings still results in high manufacturing costs which must be passed along to the consumer. Of course, where an application requires vertical blinds, an owner currently has few if any alternatives to the more costly wood and synthetic wood-look blinds.
Another common problem with the use of conventional high-end louvered window coverings which utilize thick and heavy wood or wood-look slats is that a window treatment spanning even a standard or longer width window may begin to warp and sag over time, either because of the weight of materials typically used to manufacture the slats or because of the susceptibility of that material to changes in temperature and humidity. Windows that span an appreciable width may require a louvered window covering to be applied in several small sections rather than using a single window treatment which fully spans the width of the window, to avoid sagging and warping. Multiple narrow blind sets used to cover a single window result in a segmented look that is generally undesirable, but there are few alternatives currently available. One available alternative, albeit expensive, is plantation shutters. However, plantation shutters may not always be an option as it is often the case that they can only be used where the window to be treated has ample room for the shutters to be mounted inside the window frame. Even where outside-mount shutters are an option, the support structures between windows are often not wide enough or not substantial enough to support the hardware necessary to mount the shutters. Additionally, because the slats of plantation shutters covers only about 70% of the window (the other 30% of window coverage being attributable to the fixed frame portion of the shutters), the user generally has less control over light transmission than with traditional horizontal or vertical blinds. Finally, although the slats of plantation shutters are usually short enough so that warp and sag may not be issues, the cost of the shutters is still likely to be prohibitively high because large quantities of stain-grade wood are necessary for their manufacture.
Yet another difficulty facing those who desire quality window treatments is that, in homes or offices where construction may be less than optimal, i.e., where the walls may be constructed of an insubstantial material which is unsuitable for mounting a window treatment of any appreciable weight, the selection of available window treatments is further narrowed. There are very few, if any, window treatments currently available which are of a weight light enough to be installed in virtually any setting yet which still imply high quality and good taste.
Finally, manufacturing thick wooden slats for use in conventional louvered window coverings necessarily means consumption of large quantities of wood in the process. In addition to the associated economic costs, using large quantities of wood severely impacts the environment. The environmental effects are even greater where manufacturers may be using wood harvested from older hardwoods, which are extremely difficult if not impossible to renew. Moreover, the high grade of wood required for use in high-end blind systems results in a large volume of waste product attributable to slats that do not make the grade, thus creating more environmental waste as well as generating an additional manufacturing expense that will be passed to the consumer in the price of the window coverings.
What is therefore needed is a slat that is affordable, versatile, and functional, yet which is aesthetically pleasing to even the most discriminating user. The ideal slat will be incorporable into almost all horizontal or vertical louvered blind systems, and will have support structures optimally constructed from materials which may be as thin as 1.5 mm but which are strong enough to provide rigid support for a variety of decorative coverings. As a result, the ideal slat will be lightweight, relatively inexpensive, universally useable, and environmentally conservative.